A record-sized incoming class has helped propel Hope College to the highest overall enrollment in the college's history. 

A record-sized incoming class has helped propel Hope College to the highest overall enrollment in the college's history. 

Hope has enrolled 3,249 students this fall, surpassing the previous high of 3,238 students set in the fall of 2008. 

It is the sixth year in a row that enrollment at the college has topped 3,200.  Enrollment last year was 3,202. 

The student body includes a record-high 848 students in college for the first time.  The previous high was 819 first-time students in the fall of 2007. 

The enrollment by class, with last year's class in parentheses, is: freshmen, 847 (781); sophomores, 756 (742); juniors, 698 (739); seniors, 867 (877); and special students, 81 (63).  The student body consists of 1,245 men and 2,004 women from 43 states and territories and 33 foreign countries. 

The largest representation is from Michigan with 2,217 students.  Other states represented with 10 or more students include:  Illinois, 407; Indiana, 104; Ohio, 69; Wisconsin, 51; California and Minnesota, 45 each; New York, 25; Pennsylvania, 23; Colorado and Iowa, 19 each; Florida, 18; New Jersey, 16; Texas, 13; Kansas, 11; and Washington, 10. 

Foreign countries represented in the student body include: Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, China, Cuba, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Honduras, India, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Venezuela and the West Bank. 

Students transferring to Hope from other colleges and universities total 64, compared with 59 in 2010. There are 77 students in off-campus programs, compared to 86 last year. 

Hope College was chartered in 1866 and is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America (RCA). The college offers courses in 87 majors leading to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.